It’s a great pleasure to introduce Bill Evans as a Guest Contributor. Bill is one of my oldest friends in the bluegrass world, and I take a measure of personal pride in seeing the success he has achieved as both a performer, and an educator.
He and I were young banjo seekers together in Norfolk, VA in the mid 70’s, where we both were born and raised, and I have followed his career, and maintained a friendship since that time, ultimately featuring Bill in a number of banjo instructional DVDs with AcuTab.
Bill Evans has been involved professionally with bluegrass music and the banjo for over twenty-five years as a player, teacher, writer and historian. He occupies a unique niche in the banjo world: celebrated worldwide for his traditional and progressive bluegrass banjo styles as well as his outstanding original compositions, he also enjoys a reputation as a great teacher and workshop leader.
As if this isn”t enough, he is also an American music historian, with a master’s degree in Music from the University of California, Berkeley as well as being an expert player of 19th century minstrel and classic/parlor banjo styles. He currently performs with renowned old-time and bluegrass multi-instrumentalist Jody Stecher in a show called The Secret Life of Banjos, and will unveil his new band, the six piece Bill Evans String Summit, in early 2006.
Visit Bill online on his web site.